Summer Mailing Letter

Hello all, and welcome to summer,

I hope the first few weeks of summer have treated you well. As a person fully acculturated to the academic calendar, summer has always been a time of reflection and growth. I look back on the year that was and use the time summer allows for improvement. As a school, we do the same thing. I’ve already met with a number of seniors to reflect on the last few years and think about how we can improve the Duchesne experience (a “Senior Sunrise Breakfast” before the first day is getting some traction). Debi Turner and Kurt Schneider (our new Dean of Students), along with a number of faculty members, have evaluated our student handbook and are in the process of revising it. The building itself is undergoing a number of renovations. And, of course, camp season is in full swing.

Summer also seems to require a fair amount of flexibility. Personally, each summer begins with a fairly ambitious reading list. And by mid-June, after having played too much “Tears of the Kingdom,” the list needs to be realistically revised. The list also changes for reasons beyond my control. This morning, I woke to the news that Cormac McCarthy, one of my favorite authors, died. That news (like it always does with our great artists) prompted an immediate desire to revisit some of his work, especially Blood Meridian. Now I just need to figure out how to fit it in.

Duchesne, like the rest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, also needs to be flexible over the next several months. Fr. Eddie, our beloved chaplain, has been reassigned. He will now be the parochial administrator of Sacred Heart parish in Troy. I am sure he will be great serving in that capacity but we will miss him dearly. This also leaves us looking for a chaplain. Genny Broyles has been in touch with All Things New and we are hoping to have a chaplain set before the beginning of the school year. That said, we may need to remain flexible as all of the priests new to St. Charles become acclimated to their new parishes.

The reallocation of priests, however, should not change our plans, especially in regard to our Freshman Family Mass. We started this tradition last year. On the evening prior to New Student Orientation, all incoming freshmen and their families are invited to join us in celebrating Mass at St. Peter Church in St. Charles. Starting high school is an exciting time in a young person’s life, and we want the Mass to fit the occasion so please join us and dress up.

Enjoy the rest of summer, and we’ll see you soon,

Dominic D’Urso